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Bolivarianism
, fruits of labor and progress, (presumably) an indigenous Venezuelan, and a spiritual ascension]] Debate Wikipedia:Hugo Chávez promotes his version of a 21st-century Wikipedia:Bolivarian Revolution,Manwaring (2005), pp. 8–13. in the same way, but with a different end result, as the mass media pundits and politicians promoted the concept of the American Dream and other illusory ideas. This is commonly known as propaganda by scholars; both the Wikipedia:Venezuelan and US versions are significantly different in content to the propaganda familiar to those who have learned the term in relation to Nazi Germany, but because of this background, and because the established wisdom in the US is that the US does not do propaganda, it makes an effective tool to demonize other governments.The World Politics Review said, "As Chávez pushes on with transforming Venezuela into a socialist state, government Wikipedia:propaganda plays an important role in maintaining and mobilizing government supporters ..."; the image of Chávez is seen on sides of buildings, on t-shirts, on ambulances, on official Wikipedia:Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) billboards, and as action figures. A 2011 New York Times article says Venezuela has an "expanding state propaganda complex". The Boston Globe described Chávez as "a media savvy, forward-thinking propagandist who has the oil wealth to influence public opinion". This demonizing is a prerequisite to regime change: as has happened so many times before. An extreme, weakest example is the linking of Gaddafi to the Lockerbie bombing, making it possible to bomb Libya despite UN opposition, even years later. Even more so than Libya, Venezuela is a target for regime change for two reasons: its socialist or even communist attributes, and its oil. Both Venezuela and Libya extract proportionately less oil than they have oil in the ground. Libya is high at 9th in proven oil reserves in the ground, but only 17th in rate of extraction. Venezuela is FIRST in the world in proven oil reserves; only the combined countries of OPEC have more. It is 9th in oil production (extraction). The US ploy of never taking over countries directly and never directly owning the oil wells is like a hypothetical devil making everyone lie and cheat but never murder. :The rest of the article is standard WP propaganda, claiming propaganda whether there is any or not, and as though it were a thing others do Background The term ''Bolivarian Revolution denotes a new system of government, which strays from U.S. promoted capitalism,Manwaring (2005), p. 8. based on Wikipedia:Simón Bolívar's vision of a unified South America led by a "strong but compassionate Wikipedia:caudillo".McCaughan (2005), p. 89. The caudillo is responsible for transforming the military into the armed part of the nationalist revolution and enlisting the poor as its support base.McCaughan (2005), p. 107. A "Wikipedia:participatory democracy" (or a populist government supporting a socialist economic system), has become the foundation of the Wikipedia:Hugo Chávez administration. Under the Bolivarian Revolution, Chávez created Plan Bolívar to implement a strategy to improve welfare conditions for the poor and designed to integrate the Venezuelan troops into the Bolivarian Revolution. A propaganda program has been established to accomplish "participatory democracy", to strengthen his political position, and to strengthen his power base.Manwaring (2005), p. 10. Brian A. Nelson says in The Silence and the Scorpion that opposition to Chávez was "born when a group of mothers realized that their children's new textbooks were really Cuban schoolbooks heavily infused with revolutionary propaganda".Nelson (2009), p. 5. According to Nichols and Morse in the book Venezuela (Latin America in Focus), the "Bolivarian curriculum" that was instituted to reflect Chávez's goals was against a 1980 law that prohibited political propaganda in schools.Nichols and Morse (2010), p. 230. According to Douglas Schoen, in The Threat Closer to Home, Chávez has promoted his populist message via programs and legislation including an alleged loyal chavista branch of bishops in the Catholic Church,Schoen (2009), p. 154. closing Wikipedia:RCTV, and altering laws to require citizens to report disloyal citizens.Schoen (2009), p. 156. Gustavo Coronel, writing in Human Events, said that Chávez has a costly and "intense propaganda machine" operating via the Venezuelan Embassy in the United States. A 2005 Wikipedia:Citgo program to donate heating oil to poor household in the United States was criticized as a propaganda stunt. In the media According to the BBC, US politicians have said Wikipedia:TeleSUR is a propaganda tool for Chávez. Wikipedia:Villa del Cine, a state-owned film and television studio started in 2006, has also been criticized as a "propaganda factory", according to Nichols and MorseNichols and Morse (2010), p. 326. and independent film makers. Chávez said that Villa del Cine would help break the "dictatorship of Hollywood". The Chávez government has been accused by Wikipedia:Human Rights Watch of abusing its control over broadcasting frequencies, where they can punish radio and television stations that are thought to broadcast anti-Chavista programming. Through the use of propaganda, Chávez has continually verbalized his successes on television which has resulted in a large popular base of support.Manwaring (2005), p. 12. According to Michael Kraft, writing in the Charlotte Conservative, Bolivarian propaganda has been disseminated in Venezuela and abroad. The state is in charge of all public television stations and public radio stations, including Wikipedia:Radio Nacional de Venezuela the only radio station with full national coverage. According to the Associated Press, opposition candidate Wikipedia:María Corina Machado "complained about what she called a government-orchestrated propaganda machine that churns out spots ridiculing Chávez's critics, runs talk shows dominated by ruling party hopefuls and picks up all of the president's speeches". In 1999, Chávez began to promote his revolution through print media, mostly in local newspapers like Barreto’s Correo del Presidente, focusing the messages on the transformation of Venezuela into a first world nation within ten years.McCaughan (2005), p. 98. He used cadenas (obligatory televised transmission, often taking over regular programming for hours) that became an effective weapon to fight criticism by running continuously to all audiences both in urban and rural sections of Venezuela. In 2001, he transformed Wikipedia:Aló Presidente from a radio show to a full-fledged live, unscripted, television show running all hours of the day promoting the Bolivarian Revolution, blaming the Venezuelan economic problems on its northern neighbor, the United States as a "mass-market soapbox for the policies and musings" of Chávez, who the Boston Globe described as "a media savvy, forward-thinking propagandist who has the oil wealth to influence public opinion". The show airs every Sunday, depicts Chávez (wearing red, the color of the revolution) as the charismatic leader, passionate about the well being of his country. Many Venezuelan's tune in because Mr. Chávez is known for unveiling new financial assistance packages every weekend.McCaughan (2005), p. 196. Since 1999 and 2009, President Chávez has spent an average 40 hours a week on television. In 2005, the new Law of Social Responsibility modified the penal code to simplify ways people could sue for opinions emitted against them, resulting in limits on political talk shows and self-censorship of the press (Law of Social Responsibility 2005).McCaughan (2005), p. 95. Privately owned Wikipedia:RCTV was closed in 2007 when thee administration did not renew their broadcasting license. Wikipedia:Globovisión, the last television channel to avoid government criticism, faced a $2.1 million fine on October 2011 for an alleged violation of the broadcasting statute. Education thumb|right|150px|Book cover of a government edition of the 1999 Constitution. In Chávez's Children: Ideology, Education, and Society in Latin America, Manuel Anselmi explains that "To get an idea of the importance of Bolivarian propaganda as a source of alternative political education one can use the testimony of Hugo Chávez himself". Chávez explained how he had "read the classics of socialism and of military theory and study the possible role of the army in a democratic popular revolt". In 2007, the Venezuelan government announced plans of a new curriculum for education. The journalist Andrea Montilla claimed in El Nacional that the new curriculum "seeks to impose Wikipedia:socialism as the only ideology in the schools". In 2014, the government made a new effort to implement the proposed curriculum. In April 2014, the government had students answer questionnaires with questions such as "How do you would like your school?" and other questions involving teachers. There were also questions asking about the "teaching or learning of how to help achieve the objectives of Wikipedia:Plan de la Patria". The Venezuelan Chamber of Private Education refused to take part with the education specialist, Mariano Herrera, warning that the project "has political bias". Orlando Alzuru, president of the Venezuelan Federation of Teachers (FVM), said that "the new Bolivarian curriculum is also biased and is being used to worship the figure of Chávez" and continued saying "we see with astonishment that the government is forcing teachers to sing the Wikipedia:Patria Querida hymn". According to El Nuevo Herald, Patricia Andrade, president of the NGO Venezuela Awareness said that the new books involved in the governments new curriculum "contain a high load of ideological doctrine of socialism" and that "the books eliminate critical thinking of children and create the basis for indoctrination into a single ideology, which is the ideology of the Bolivarian Revolution". Math books have "frequent references to social benefit programs introduced by Chávez". In history books, there is only one page explaining Venezuela's last 40 years of democracy while there are over twenty pages devoted to Chávez. According to Maria Teresa Clement, Secretary of Communication of the Venezuelan Federation of Teachers, the changes to the history books "revolves around the role played by a single president Chávez, as if the previous historical record was irrelevant". Other books also include anti-capitalist attitudes and show "economic sectors of the country and the U.S. as the great enemies of the country". One text allegedly "ensures economic groups launched a coup with the help of United States sent ships to invade Venezuelan waters". In 2014, an assembly of teachers on the islands of Margarita and Coche demanded an end to the alleged "Wikipedia:indoctrination of children by educators" at the regional and national level, claiming that that the days between the 5 and 15 of March were aimed "to worship former late President Hugo Chávez". The president of the Venezuelan Chamber of Private Education, María Teresa Hernández claims that Resolution 058 by the government is "unconstitutional" and that it "seeks for colectivos with political projects of the ruling to be directly involved in public and private schools" in Venezuela. She continued saying that schoolchildren are "very easy to manipulate" and need to develop political beliefs on their own. Elections 200px|thumbnail|right|Multiple signs of [[Wikipedia:Nicolas Maduro from the 2013 Venezuelan presidential election.]] During election campaigns, Chávez was portrayed in many ways; such as being an athlete and was even compared to Wikipedia:God. His "election propaganda" also involved murals, effigies and art representing Chávez's eyes. Author of The Dictator's Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy, Wikipedia:William J. Dobson, explained that "Chávez didn’t fear elections; He embraced them" because "rather than stuffing ballot boxes, Chávez understood that he could tilt the playing field enough to make it nearly impossible to defeat him". Dobson continued saying that "Chávez’s campaign coffers were fed by opaque slush funds holding billions in oil revenue. The government’s media dominance drowned out the opposition." Image of Hugo Chávez Former President Hugo Chávez has been given multiple titles by his supporters. He has been referred to as "Eternal Commander" and "the Father of the Country". Chávez has even been called a Wikipedia:saint by some supporters with the Catholic Church denouncing comparisons of Chávez to Wikipedia:Jesus. President Wikipedia:Nicolas Maduro even compared Chávez to Jesus saying "Christ the Redeemer became flesh ... became truth in Chavez" and that just like Jesus, Chávez "came to protect those who had nothing". In 2014, those involved in education and the government's opposition accused Venezuela's new educational curriculum of making Chávez appear "messianic", as the "liberator of Venezuela", and like "the new God". International At the 61st Wikipedia:United Nations General Assembly, Hugo Chávez gave an anti-imperialist and anti-United States speech calling Wikipedia:George W. Bush "the devil" and "world dictator". He accused Bush of spreading imperialism saying "he came to share his nostrums, to try to preserve the current pattern of domination, exploitation and pillage of the peoples of the world." He also criticized Wikipedia:Israel due to the the conflict it had with Wikipedia:Lebanon. He then called the United Nations system "worthless" and that it had "collapsed". Chávez said that the United States promoted violence while Venezuela represented "dignity and the search for peace". After making his statements about seeking peace, Chávez asked for Venezuela to be on the Wikipedia:United Nations Security Council saying, "Bolivar's home has sought a nonpermanent seat on the Security Council." He concluded saying that a new movement was being formulated in the south and even proposed moving the United Nations headquarters to Venezuela. In documents leaked from Wikipedia:Wikileaks, the United States government said that Hugo Chávez "conducted an array of state business and outreach to sympathizers during a six-country swing through Europe and North Africa" while visiting from May 10 to May 18, 2006. They said that in the countries Chávez visited, the "message, as usual, was anti-U.S., anti-capitalist, and anti-imperialist". After visiting with Wikipedia:Pope Benedict XVI and being criticized by him over "human rights", "Chavez and the Bolivarian propaganda machine spun the meeting as a new high in Venezuelan church-state relations". While visiting the Refounded Communist Party in Wikipedia:Italy, Chávez said "that he would fix things up with Wikipedia:Peru and Wikipedia:Mexico once their current presidents had left office". After being criticized at the EU-Latam summit in Wikipedia:Austria, Chávez created his own "alternate summit" including "3,500 youth leaders of socialist groups organized by the Wikipedia:Hands Off Venezuela movement" with the help of the Bolivarian Peoples' Congress. In another Wikileaks document, the United States Embassy in Peru alleged that the ALBA House Mission was set up in Peru to "spread Bolivarian propaganda via programs like the Venezuelan Miracle Mission". Marcial Maydana, director of Peru's ALBA House Mission "has publicly admitted that these programs include pro-Venezuelan ideological content and reportedly said he hopes to build "an axis of 'Bolivarianism' in Peru". A second ALBA Peru leader said the program was "part of the international bloc that promotes Hugo Chavez". According to President Nicolas Maduro, Wikipedia:Pope Francis, the first South American pope, was elected because Chávez talked to Jesus. Dissemination 250px|thumb|right|Parts of [[Wikipedia:Caracas slums friendly to former Wikipedia:Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez often feature political murals with anti-American and anti-imperialist messages.]] Bolivarianismo uses emotional arguments to gain attention, exploit the fears (either real or imagined) of the population, create external enemies for scapegoat purposes, and produce nationalism within the population, causing feelings of betrayal for support of the opposition.Manwaring (2005), p. 11. The images and messages promote ideological mobilization,Turner (2007), p. 14. including Chávez as a "liberator", the positive effects of the Bolivarian Revolution (including social reforms), and power deriving from the people. The overall goal of the Bolivarian propaganda machine is to reflect society's wants and goals for an improved Venezuela. The Bolivarian Revolution is advertised through all outlets a political campaign usually uses: TV, radio, Internet (with websites like the Venezuelan Solidarity Campaign), magazines (like Viva Venezuela), newspapers, murals, billboards, memorabilia (action figures, t-shirts, posters), schools (through the lesson plans and books), movies, symphonies (Wikipedia:Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar), festivals, and public service vehicles (like buses and ambulances). In Venezuela, "Hugo Chávez is everywhere", along with images portraying similarities to Simón Bolívar; the typical images that accompany the pro-socialist messages are the Wikipedia:red star, Wikipedia:Che Guevara portraits, Wikipedia:Simón Bolívar portraits, red barrettes, Venezuelan flags, "evil" Wikipedia:Uncle Sam, Uncle Sam as a snake, and Chávez with the superman logo. Wikipedia:Template:Politics of Venezuela Definition Bolivarianism is a set of political doctrines that enjoys currency in parts of Wikipedia:South America, especially Wikipedia:Venezuela. Bolivarianism is named after Wikipedia:Simón Bolívar, the 19th century Venezuelan general and liberator who led the struggle for independence throughout much of South America. Bolivarianism of Hugo Chavez Wikipedia:Template:Venezolanos In recent years, Bolivarianism's most significant political manifestation was in the government of Venezuela's president Wikipedia:Hugo Chávez, who from the beginning of his presidency called himself a Bolivarian patriot and applied his interpretation of several of Bolívar's ideals to everyday affairs, as part of the Wikipedia:Bolivarian Revolution. That included the 1999 Constitution, which changed Venezuela's name to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and other ideas such as the Bolivarian Schools, Wikipedia:Bolivarian Circles, and the Universidad Bolivariana de Venezuela. Often, the term Bolivarianism is used specifically to refer to Chávez's rule. The central points of Bolivarianism, as extolled by Chávez, are: *South American economic and political sovereignty (Wikipedia:anti-imperialism) *Grassroots political participation of the population via popular votes and referendums (Wikipedia:Popular democracy) *Wikipedia:Economic self-sufficiency (in food, consumer durables, etc.) *Instilling in people a national ethic of Wikipedia:patriotic service *Equitable distribution of (Wikipedia:South America's) vast natural resources *Eliminating corruption Chávez's version of Bolivarianism, although drawing heavily from Wikipedia:Simón Bolívar's ideals, was also drawn from the writings of Marxist historian Wikipedia:Federico Brito Figueroa. Chávez was also influenced by the South American tradition of cooperativism early in his life, such as that practiced by Wikipedia:Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Wikipedia:Fidel Castro, Wikipedia:Che Guevara and Wikipedia:Salvador Allende. Other key influences on Chávez's political philosophy include Wikipedia:Ezequiel Zamora and Wikipedia:Simón Rodríguez. Although Chávez himself referred to his ideology as Bolivarianismo ("Bolivarianism"), Chávez's supporters and opponents in Venezuela refer to themselves as being either for or against "chavismo". Chávez supporters refer to themselves as "chavistas". Later in his life, Chávez would acknowledge the role that Wikipedia:democratic socialism (a political ideology advocating a democratic political system alongside a socialist economic system.) plays in Bolivarianism. For example, on 30 January 2005 at the Wikipedia:World Social Forum in Wikipedia:Porto Alegre, Wikipedia:Brazil, Chávez declared his support for democratic socialism as integral to Bolivarianism, proclaiming that humanity must embrace "a new type of socialism, a humanist one, which puts humans, and not machines or the state, ahead of everything".Sojo, Cleto A. (Venezuela Analysis, 31 Jan 2005). "Venezuela’s Chávez Closes World Social Forum with Call to Transcend Capitalism". Retrieved 20 Oct 2005. He later reiterated this sentiment in a 26 February speech at the 4th Summit on Social Debt held in Wikipedia:Caracas. Other definitions and dispute Historically, there has been no universally accepted definition as to the proper use of the terms Bolivarianism and Bolivarian within all the countries in the region. Many leaders, movements and parties have indistinctly used them to describe themselves throughout most of the 19th and 20th centuries. Pan-Americanism People who have called themselves bolivarianos claim to follow the general ideology expressed in Bolívar's texts such as the Wikipedia:Carta de Jamaica and the Wikipedia:Discurso de Angostura. Some of Bolívar's ideas include forming a union of Latin American countries, providing Wikipedia:public education, and enforcing Wikipedia:sovereignty to fight against foreign invasion, which has been interpreted to include economic domination by foreign powers. An example of such a union was Wikipedia:Gran Colombia, a block of countries consisting of Wikipedia:Venezuela, Wikipedia:Colombia, Wikipedia:Panamá (part of New Granada in that time) and Wikipedia:Ecuador. The Colombian insurgent group FARC has, in recent years, also considered itself to be inspired by Bolívar's ideals and by his role in the 19th century independence struggle against Spain. It has also publicly declared its sympathy towards Wikipedia:Hugo Chávez and his Wikipedia:Bolivarian Revolution, though none of the either confirm or deny any involvement with the insurgent group. A Venezuelan guerrilla organization, the Wikipedia:Bolivarian Forces of Liberation, also espouses Bolivarianism, although it is not known if they have any ties to the Venezuelan government. Chavismo Bolivarianism in Venezuela is also referred to (sometimes pejoratively by its opponents)http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=7266 as chavismo or "Chavezism".Morsbach, Greg. Chavez opponents face tough times. BBC News (6 December 2005). Adherents are referred to as chavistas. Several political parties in Venezuela support chavismo. The main party, directly affiliated with Chávez, is the PSUV, Wikipedia:United Socialist Party of Venezuela, which replaced the Wikipedia:Fifth Republic Movement (Spanish: Movimiento Quinta Republica, usually referred to by the three letters, MVR). Other parties and movements supporting chavismo include Wikipedia:Communist Party of Venezuela, Wikipedia:Venezuelan Popular Unity and Tupamaros. The left-wing Wikipedia:Fatherland for All (Spanish: Patria Para Todos or PPT), Movement for Socialism (Spanish: Movimiento al Socialismo or MAS ), Wikipedia:Radical Cause (Spanish: Causa R) and Wikipedia:For Social Democracy (Spanish: Por la Democracia Social) initially supported chavismo, but they have since distanced themselves from it, and now oppose it. A 2002 article in Wikipedia:The Boston Globe said chavismo "fueled the eruption of public fury that swept the charismatic and confrontational president back into power after a group of military officers deposed him for two days in April in favor of a businessman-president," adding that the "Chavismo phenomenon has almost religious qualities."Ceaser, Mike. Chavez followers stay loyal despite Venezuela Crisis. Wikipedia:Boston Globe (17 December 2002). pg. A.33 El Universal reports that former Brazilian President Wikipedia:Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva distanced himself from Chavezism, saying that Brazil is not Venezuela, and has traditional institutions.Lula says he is not like Chávez. El Universal (22 August 2006). In early May 2008, prior to embarking on a one-week Latin America trip that took her to Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and lastly Wikipedia:Peru, where the European Union-Latin America summit took place the week starting 18 May,http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7398597.stm Chavez links Merkel with Hitler (BBC News, 13 May 2008) Wikipedia:Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor, declared: "President Chavez does not speak for Latin America. Every country has its own voice with which it pursues its own interests." See also * Wikipedia:Bolivarianism * Wikipedia:The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (film) See also *Wikipedia:List of political parties in Venezuela Wikipedia:Template:Topics related to Hugo Chávez External links *Karl Marx's article about Bolivar in the New American Encyclopedia 1858 *Hugo Chávez and Bolivarian Nationalism *The Enduring Spell of Bolívar *Chavez's Ace - Venezuelan Leader Taps Bolivar Myths, Cults *(Mis)understanding Chavez and Venezuela in Times of Revolution *Venezuela Assembly Rubber-stamps Socialist Changes by Christopher Toothaker, AP, 12 August 2009 *Venezuela Slum takes Socialism beyond Chavez by Esteban Israel, Wikipedia:Reuters, July 2010 Bibliography * * * * * * Further reading * * * Wikipedia:Template:Hugo Chávez References Category:Pan-Americanism Category:Hugo Chávez Category:Political movements Category:Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia Category:Latin American culture Category:Political philosophy by politician Category:Democratic socialism Category:Socialism in Venezuela Category:Politics of Venezuela